[johnny_261]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this forum and have joined because I'm planning on going on a ~4-5 month road trip across the USA (leaving in mid April). Seeing as well be doing a LOT of driving, I thought it might be a good idea to do a few small mods to try to increase the fuel efficiency of the vehicle (even if only by a little bit)

Unfortunately, my car is NOT fuel efficient to begin with...it is a 2004 Kia Sorento EX with a 3.5L V6. We will also be bringing a rooftop carrier, which I know will not help fuel efficiency at all, but we need the space. I'm debating whether to get one of the tow hitch mounted racks, but the problem is we would also have to get a tow hitch installed and buy the rack making this option quite a bit more expensive...We will be doing a fair amount of city driving as well as we plan on visiting all the major cities and therefore, this might make it harder to park etc...

I was thinking of doing some smooth wheel covers for the front wheels, rear wheel skirts for the rears, perhaps a belly pan, but I'm not sure if the effort for this one will be worth it. The car also came with a small rear spoiler, I'm thinking taking it off would be better for fuel economy? Also going to try to reduce weight by taking out the rear seats.

Does that sound like a good start?

I was also wondering if mounting the roof top carrier closer to the front or rear of the car would make a difference? Also, would having something to cover the gap between the top of the car and the bottom of the carrier help aerodynamics?

Thanks for any input.